IONIA, MI -- For Daniel Chinchak, the awful memories of July 22, 2012 linger in his mind.

His best friend died at his hand.

And now he's near the front end of a minimum 10-year prison term for taking the life.

"We were drinking and messing around," Chinchak said from Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia County.

He said he didn't know the Ruger P345 he pointed at Jason Arntz's head was loaded. He pulled the trigger.

"I know that a lot of people hate me and I understand that," the 23-year-old Chinchak said.

The little solace he's found since the shooting is rooted in a new friendship he's formed with Arntz's mother, Leesa Arntz.

Since April, when Leesa Arntz first sent him a letter in hopes of finding peace of mind, the two have communicated regularly by letter and phone.

"She's like a second mom," Chinchak said recently.

He explains their connection like this: "It's because she understands what I'm going through and I understand what she's going through. Jason was my best friend.

"I'll never be able to forgive myself. But knowing that she forgives me, knowing that she wants to talk to me, that she wants me to be part of the world, it makes all the difference when I wake up every day," he said.

"She's there for me and understands that it was an accident," he said.

Chinchak and Leesa Arntz want to persuade the Bellamy Creek warden to let them meet face to face. The warden has denied Arntz's requests so far, because of safety and security concerns.

"Obviously, this was an awful crime where a life was lost and discussing the offense in-person could potentially stir up a lot of emotion for both the victim’s mother and the prisoner," Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan said.